Second runway in Minsk airport by 1 January 2019

The official said that the construction of the second runway is the most important matter for the Minsk National Airport now

The second runway in the Minsk National Airport will be commissioned by 1 January 2019, BelTA learned from Vladimir Kostin, Director of the Aviation Department of the Belarusian Transport and Communications Ministry.

The official said that the construction of the second runway is the most important matter for the Minsk National Airport now. It is supposed to be commissioned by 1 January 2019.

The airport needs the second runway because the first one is virtually past its endurance. “As a rule, such runways are designed to last for 20 years or 25 years at the outside. Ours has been in use for over 30 years now. We are already unable to welcome all the types of aircraft without restrictions. The airport has to limit the number of flights or the landing mass of aircraft. The second runway will be able to welcome every existing type of aircraft, including the world's largest passenger aircraft Airbus A380,” stressed Vladimir Kostin.

The official said that concrete pouring will begin at the construction site roughly in April. “Engineering work will be done to install communications and light signals, which are very important. Apart from that, equipment to allow aircraft to land with virtually zero visibility will be installed. The runway will be 3.7km long. We intend to finish building it on time,” he stated.